Bones and Blisters
by Lady Yami
Summary: Natsu makes a dark decision to protect Lucy, and everyone pays the price. NaLu. Angst/ham. Tartaros arc spoilers.


Bones and Blisters

By: Moonybell

AN: I really wanted to write angst. I know a lot of people don't like the E.N.D Natsu theory. I find it provides excellent narm materiel and you won't stop me. Don't like it, go elsewhere. Nalu, angst,cheese, little blood.

I don't own Fairy Tail. I'd just fuck it up, anyway.

X X X

Ash and cinder drifted through the dry air, stripped of oxygen by hungry flames. After the bombardment of sound and light, it only upset her more. She'd departed consciousness with a violent blow, amidst chaos. She awoke, head throbbing, to utter silence. Too still, now. Too quiet. Burned, bleeding fingers clawed weakly at the ground. Piled ash scattered in gray plumes, revealing scorched floor beneath it. A hoarse cough sounded through the empty corridor.

Lucy lifted her golden head, parting her lips to call for her friends. It was a horrid mistake. She choked in agony. Barely opening the corners of her mouth was a special kind of hell. It seemed to have unleashed the flood gate, area around her lips smarting. Hesitantly, she touched her finger to it. Her flesh was fever-hot, dotted with a few bumps.

Once, as a little girl, she'd gotten a terrible sunburn. She'd been made to attend a ball, beet red and raw, and had to endure a lecture from her father. Fingertips prodded gently around the rest of her face. Sore, but the burn was around her mouth. How did that happen?

The castle's marble tiles were a stark bone white underneath, now streaked with blood from her injured fingers. She hissed in pain, shakily pulling herself to her feet. The blonde teetered carefully down the dim, hot halls, filthy arms crossed in front of her protectively. Unseen injuries protested every other step. Steadfast, she headed towards the gently pulsing red glow ahead.

She didn't know the particulars of what happened. A few memories, here and there. Gray encased in ice. Juvia, her fingers twined with his, curled next to him. The more she recalled, the greater her worry grew. She stopped sifting through the past to gawk in horror at the present.

The kingdom burned, awash in crimson. The crumbling cityscape was jagged and black on the horizon, the grasping claws of some dying beast. The moon hung, garish and red, a terrible spotlight for the ruin under it. Off in the distance, and out of place, was a giant blue structure. She peered at it long and hard. It looked like a massive glass block, shattered at the top and pock marked with craters and missing chunks.

Ice. It was ice.

The hysterics threatened to well up in her chest, and she bid them down, swallowing them in quick gasps of air. This led to hiccups. Bare, blistered feet slapped down on ash-covered marble. Who did this? She knew, didn't she? She strained her hazy memory.

They were above the city, weren't they? How did she get to the palace?

The girl hiccupped more rapidly now. Where was everyone? Her head throbbed.

She'd begun to turn and look for an escape when someone spoke:

"Wait." Such a familiar voice, that youthful tenor. She let out a dry shriek of surprise when what she had assumed was rubble next to her moved. She reached for her keys. Her hand drew back. There was something hot and liquid, there. It was mostly contained in her pouch. Her foggy mind couldn't process it. "Wait." It repeated, that same gentle voice.

Natsu sat to her left, perched on the rubble of a destroyed wall. He was mostly shadowed from her view, but that shock of cherry-colored hair was his. Joy bubbled into her chest, before stopping. Wait. What was she not recalling, in her addled state? Her vision swam. She had hit the floor hard. She recalled that much, sort of. Terrible pain around her mouth, and a blow to the was a blistering trail across the back of her thighs, and another across her shoulders.

"Natsu?" She breathed, voice a strange mingling of relief and fear. Why fear, though? Why was that terrible fight or flight instinct making her jumpy as a rabbit? The primal drive to run and never look back was tremendous.

"…Aye." The response came after a few seconds, the shadow shifting to look at her. "I think." Black and yellow eyes caught in the light of the dying kingdom. Oh. But there, there was the fear. Obsidian horns swept alongside his head and up, framing a face with strange, inky black markings. Pointed ears were tipped with the same dark bone as his horns. Scales raised his tan skin. The rest of him remained in the gloom.

She swallowed a lump.

"…You…think?" She echoed. He nodded at her, strange eyes unblinking. Such a terrible quaking in her knees, now. What happened? She ransacked the mess that was her memory.

"I don't remember." He said listlessly. What happened to him? They'd all watched it happen, hadn't they? Where was everyone? Panic was setting in, anyway. She hiccupped. Natsu continued to talk, turning his gaze back to the city "Something bad happened to you, here." He explained calmly. She jumped when a nearby clocktower finally gave into the flames, collapsing in a heap of twisted metal and sound. Distorted bells sounded in the air. "I…my head's all funny." The last line sounded almost like him, strained though it was.

"What DO you remember?" She pressed. If her fragmented memories were true, then horror couldn't even begin to cover what happened.

Silence, then the horned thing spoke:

"I remember you." His voice cracked a bit. "I watched you die, I think." He held up a hand, and she gasped. Curling black claws had replaced his hands, flesh ebon as his horns, lightening at his elbows. "But you're alive. I held you. I carried you." He stood quickly, sliding off the rubble to stand before her. Carried? The burns along her thighs and shoulders smarted. Oh…

His jacket was nearly gone, one pant leg almost completely missing. His scarf was still there, strangely untouched. Black wings were folded behind him. He'd flown, and carried her. That had to be it. When he caught her staring, he rolled his shoulders. They disappeared in a cloud of smoke. She opened her mouth to question him further, but stopped when he spoke. "You were cryin'." He did seem genuinely sad, though it was odd to see the emotion on his marked face, "And then…you were screamin'." The former Dragonslayer ghosted towards her, head tilted to the side in animal curiosity. It'd been cute before. Now, not so much. She bit her lip, reaching again for her keys, crying out when her flesh hit molten metal.

A black hand shot out, pulling her wrist away from them. The hand itself was uncomfortably hot. "Don't." He whispered. "I-I melted them. And when everyone tried to stop me, I-"

"No, no, no…" She ranted, voice climbing with hysteria.

"You just kept screamin', and it was so awful, hearin' you." His voice, with its' strange hollowness, shook a bit. He grimaced for a moment, lips drawing back over pointed incisors. They'd always been like that, though, she told herself. Bits and pieces of him were left, cruel reminders of someone much beloved. She could still salvage him, right? More bells tumbled, strange metallic sound echoing through the halls.

"You didn't do it, Natsu, you'd never." She looked down at her pouch. He used his free hand to tear it from her belt, hurling it to the floor. It opened, molten metal slipping through the opening. Amidst the gold, she could make out the warped images of the Zodiac's crests. "Impossible." Her lip quivered. "It's spirit world metal, there's no way." She hissed, more to herself.

"I wasn't good at it, at first, I couldn't cool down." His black eyes flitted from the melted keys back to their owner. He spoke quicker and quicker, his voice more and more human. "And you just kept screamin', and I just couldn't deal with it, it was so much noise. And I was so confused, and I just wanted you to-"

"You just wanted me to what?" She whisper-screamed, movement tearing at the singed flesh. His golden irises pulsed with emotion.

"I hate when you cry." His voice was strained. Moments passed. It was too quiet again, and she felt the city settling into its' death around her. "…I thought if I brought you here, I'd remember, but I don't." He gestured with a sable claw to the hallway where her future self had met her end. "When I came to my senses, all I could see was your face. And I knew I had to protect you." His hands opened slowly, as if to touch her. The conflict behind his eyes was maddening to watch.

She had to find everyone. If she was okay, they would be, too? Right? Whatever had Natsu wasn't letting go any time soon. She needed help. And her keys…

She bolted. It wasn't a wise decision, she knew that even as she took off. A painful slide across the ash-dusted floors granted her the metal lump that'd been her keys. She'd reached the hole in the wall quicker than she expected, and tumbled down the pile of rubble rather ungracefully. He'd been quiet when she ran. Hitting the ground limping, she'd barley taken four steps when he was upon her.

A hot iron clamp closed around her waist. She screamed, beating at her captor with her satchel. The world tipped upside down for a few terrible moments, before she tumbled onto a balcony. Scrambling to her feet, she clutched the ruined keys to her chest. She was closer to the massive glacier, now. It was melting fast, pouring beautiful blue water into the burning city. Whatever Gray tried to do had failed. She tried to ignore the dark blot in the middle of the glacier.

"You need help, Natsu. There's no way your dad would have wanted this." She said firmly. Dehydration, exhaustion, and horror were taking their toll on her.

He was perched on the railing of the grand half-circle balcony, knees to his chest, looking every bit a gargoyle. Gold eyes smoldered. At the mention of Igneel, there was a visible twitch.

"Whaddya mean. He was the one who did this. He prepared me for it." His voice was flat. He was warped. Whatever had him, E.N.D, it was twisting his brave heart. The humanity that ebbed and flowed with him was rapidly dissipating. He studied a claw, lips slightly parted in thought, before turning his baleful gaze back to her.

She licked her burnt lips, and clutched her bag closer to her chest.

"B-because, Natsu. Y-you're…you're in trouble. We're your friends, we'll help."

"Friends." He tilted his head at her, then his brow furrowed. He glanced over his shoulder at Gray's failed seal.

Her mouth dropped open slightly.

"Where is everyone, Natsu?" Her voice broke.

"That's why you were screaming." The answer was flat. "You cried when I melted the keys. You screamed wh-"

"No, no." She repeated over and over, sobbing in earnest. She sank to her knees. He regarded her with wide eyes, before his face twisted in rage.

"Stop. That. Sound." He seethed. He clutched at his head, squeezing his eyes shut. "Who are you, anyway? You're Lucy, aren't you?! Lucy, right?! Lucy!" The humanity was back, now. He was apoplectic, thrashing. He launched himself at her, kneeling in front of her and grabbing her shoulders. "Aren't you?! You're Lucy!"

"I am Lucy," she gasped between sobs. "I'm your friend."

"I did this for you!" He roared at the blonde, claws leaving red welts on her shoulder blades. "You were in trouble, we were in trouble, and I didn't want you to cry so I-I-" His pupils dilated. "I did this." A terrible crack split the air. The glacier had broken diagonally, massive chunk crashing to the ground with a few waves. "And I took care of what was threatening you." He purred, hands wrapping around her upper arms. "Because I said I would. And I did. But after that, it got all fucked up." His voice broke again, back and forth between emotional extremes. She stared blankly at him, tears sliding down her cheeks. "I just want you to…" His brows knitted in thought, gazing around anxiously, as if searching for an answer.

"You just wanted me to what?!" She screamed at him, fresh sobs tearing from her mouth. His pupils shrank, and a smoldering hand clamped over her mouth - perfectly matching her burn. Her hands flew to his wrist, yanking it away. His breath caught in his throat. He was sorry. He wanted to be sorry. He forgot how to be sorry. He was sorry he forgot how to be sorry. His heart was unreliable, unfeeling, now. Only the memories in the corner of his fast darkening mind could aid him, now.

He leaned over her, hesitating before touching his forehead gently to hers. Behind them, the moon was red and massive. His wings faded quietly into existence, ash flying in silken plumes around them. They then curled around them, and he gently pulled the scarf from his neck to drape her head with it, laying it reverently across her shaking shoulders. He leaned in, pressing her forehead to his bare shoulder. Warm lips brushed her ear, ever so gently.

"I just want you to stop crying, Lucy."

AN: Edited because I reread while not half asleep and was sad.


End file.
